GET WISDOM
Recently I have been reading Proverbs as part of my daily Bible reading. Solomon is the author, and in proverbs 4, something stood out to me that I don’t remember considering before.
Solomon writes ‘’For I too, was once my father’s young son, tenderly loved as my mother’s only child. MY FATHER TAUGHT ME”-‘take my words to heart…get wisdom, develop good judgment…don’t turn away from my words, or turn your back on wisdom, for she (wisdom) will protect you…getting wisdom is the best thing you can do, and whatever else you do, get good judgment (discernment)’
Solomon became king after David. There was much unrest and upheaval in the family and nation. We know this is the consequence of David’s sin of adultery and murder. But David repented and God loved David greatly and told him His family would be part of the kingly line of procession. We know God was referring to the bloodline of the Messiah, Jesus Christ, the King of Kings.
Soon after Solomon became king, God came to him in a dream. When asked what he would like God to give him as king, Solomon asked for wisdom and discernment, so he could rule the people of God well according to God’s principles. God was so pleased with Solomon that He not only granted the request, He also gave him respect, power and immense wealth.
Let’s go back to proverb 4 where Solomon writes ‘my father taught me…get wisdom!’ It was not an accident that Solomon asked God for wisdom and understanding. This is what his father had taught him! We see what happened to the sons of David who were not taught by David. Absolam and Adonijah were selfish young men who took whatever they wanted. The Bible says that David ‘turned his eyes away’ from all their wrongdoing. He loved them and did not discipline or correct them. This resulted in so much sin and hurt in the family. But David apparently learned a lesson in what happened to his older sons and taught Solomon what he needed to know to be a great godly king. It’s too bad the older sons had not been taught, their end would have been very different.
We can learn a great lesson from this. Not only to teach our children to love God and learn His Word, but to live ourselves as an example of the principles of God. In our world today, knowledge is growing by leaps and bounds. But there is not a lot of Godly wisdom being used. People are living their own way, doing what they want when they want, much like David’s sons did. We must ask God for wisdom to live in ways that please and honor God. We must desire discernment to keep ourselves blameless in the sinful world around us. Our Heavenly Father teaches us through His Word how to live a life of purity. We cannot turn our eyes away from sin, rather, we must keep our eyes on Jesus and let His light illuminate the darkness around us, showing sin for what it is and shining the spotlight on the love, grace, goodness and peace of Jesus. There are souls who are counting on us!
I am always so amazed at how God’s Word is so pertinent to our daily life, no matter where we live, how old we are or what is happening in the world around us. Study His Word and let His principles be your guide.